Find out what's happening behind the scenes at Registers of Scotland.

Message from the Keeper – September 2017

From events and customer engagement to newly-released reports, September has been another busy month at Registers of Scotland.

Earlier this month, we released our annual report, covering the 2016-17 financial year. The report not only showcases our financial statements for the year, but also the importance of customer focus, and developments in new products and services, that have defined RoS since we began our digital transformation.

Highlights include new digital registration services, the move to our new Glasgow office at St Vincent Plaza, continued progression towards our land register completion goals and the development of ScotLIS, Scotland’s Land Information Service. We also recorded impressive numbers for the year, with over 652,000 applications accepted, along with handling around 94,000 customer service enquiries. Full details, including the report itself, can be found on our website.

Also released in September was the latest publication of monthly House Price Index statistics. Key statistics from this edition show the average price of a property in Scotland in July 2017 was £149,185 – an increase of 2.8 per cent on the month before, and of 4.8 per cent compared with July 2016. This year-on-year increase is the biggest percentage increase since March 2015; insight like this demonstrates the important role we play in providing up-to-date statistical property data for Scotland.

We’ve hosted several important events this month. Our Meadowbank House (MBH) office in Edinburgh was the site for the recent Content Analytics meet up, which brought together like-minded digital professionals from groups like the Scottish Government, Skills Development Scotland and Scottish Enterprise. We also shared the story of RoS with the public this month, as our MBH office took part in the Edinburgh Doors Open Day. Over 100 members of the public visited to learn more about the history of RoS and the work we do.

It’s been a strong month for customer engagement too. Much of this has centred on ScotLIS, our new land and information service for Scotland, which will soon be in public beta. Our teams have been meeting with stakeholders across the country, including the Ordnance Survey’s recent One Scotland Mapping Agreement conference, to showcase how ScotLIS will improve access to land and property information for both businesses and the public. I’d like to thank everyone involved for the efforts and dedication as we introduce this new and exciting service for Scotland.

As you can see, September has been an exciting month here at RoS, but we’re eagerly awaiting October, which holds two of the most important events in our calendar for 2017. First, from 24 – 27 October, we’re hosting the annual Registrars of Title Conference – the first time this international event has been hosted in Scotland. Also that week, on 24 October, we’ll be joined by Deputy First Minister John Swinney MSP as we officially announce the arrival of ScotLIS. It’ll be a great month for RoS – be sure to keep an eye on our social media channels for more information.